


The Last Report

by Prank (NekoPrankster218)



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fictional Documents, First Contact, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Tumblr: Writing-prompt-s, Unhappy Ending, Written in one sitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26365369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoPrankster218/pseuds/Prank
Summary: The last report made by an unnamed individual from theTipping the Scales.
Kudos: 3





	The Last Report

**Author's Note:**

> So this is actually my first time writing a fic from scratch in AO3 and not just pasting from a word document. [This is mainly because this is an immediate response to a prompt that should be quick and simple.](https://writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com/post/628169292086706176/science-fiction-is-full-of-first-contact-stories)
> 
> Just for some backstory on that: I follow a bunch of prompt blogs on Tumblr, including the ever famous writing-prompt-s blog. I was originally going to respond to a post through Tumbr, but I noticed that my first idea was already used, including a similarly-worded twist final line. So my second idea was this one, taking place specifically in the Halo universe. I decided to just put it on AO3, tho, just as an organizational thing. And plus it's been months since I've published anything and even a little prompt response is better than nothing. Hopefully I'll be able to finish a oneshot or two from my Fandom Tropes series soon.

First contact is a popular trope in the science fiction genre. Stories revolving around aliens, and especially our first meetings with them, have been created for centuries. The further out into space we went, the more we expressed through the creative arts our wish of first contact with a species as intelligent and self-conscious as us. The universe was simply too big to only house _one_ species of advanced lifeforms. Naysayers of alien existence would use each planetary discovery as evidence we were alone; however, as alien enthusiasts and scientists pointed out, we have found many planets with their own ecosystems of flora and fauna already present. It would only be a matter of time before we crossed paths with an alien species as developed as ourselves - maybe primitive, maybe space-faring.

Given, then, that we had no experience with aliens beyond our imaginations, some of our expectations of first contact were...idealistic. We would imagine the trading and economical possibilities. We would imagine the opportunities to further our knowledge on the universe, as well as share our own exclusive discoveries. We would imagine the potential allies - even personal relationships. We would imagine stories of inter-galactic cooperation and peace. Sometimes, we'd even like to imagine the idea of mentorship towards the less advanced or barbaric. Because history does like to repeat itself, doesn't it?

These predictions were not universal, though. There were those who nuanced the pool of first contact stories with complete opposite events. Sour meetings that would lead to war. Racist clashes and species discrimination. Exploitation and malicious conquests. Sometimes, we wouldn't be painted as the victims. These were all just as popular - either as allegory for modern times or just something to scare us on movie night. Because either you didn't believe in aliens, you didn't believe things would go wrong, or you believed that these cautionary tales would be enough to educate us to be genre-savvy in real life.

It was kinda funny, in hindsight, that we had been watching the 2521 reboot of _E.T._ the night prior to...I'll get to that. _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial_ was a family film originally released in the 1980's based on an alien kid who gets stranded on Earth and befriends a human child. It was rebooted only a few times since then. The first few were just to update it to what was at the time "the modern era". The latest one, though, got a little more interesting. Some changes in previous reboots were minor - maybe a change of planet setting, or just updating the time period. The one before 2521 specifically took place on what was then the newest colony, and ended with the neighboring alien species befriending the colony after the lost kid returned home. _E.T. 2521_ , though...that got subversive. In a shocking twist, it was the story of a _human_ kid stuck on an alien planet.

They technically could've just renamed the movie, but sometimes new ideas made form scratch just don't sell.

Everyone in the crew had grown up with the reboot prior, so we decided to test out the new version on the regular movie night. Life on the _Tipping the Scales_ was pretty boring for most of its run. We were just a patrol ship for the outskirts of the 23 Librae system. Our duties consisted of communication with neighboring systems - mainly the frontier Epsilon Indi system - and being on the lookout for anything that Madrigal needed to know about. An asteroid getting too close for comfort? A ship on approach to the system? Suspicious events taking place not too far away? We were the vigilant guardians that would report to and warn the colony - even if we'd risk losing our lives just to bid time for an evacuation.

Fortunately - or maybe unfortunately - nothing ever happened on the outskirts. Sure, there was the Insurrection taking place planetside, but we were strictly a neutral force. Any reports of ours regarding ships - UNSC or independent - were simply informative and not politically-driven. We had to be, really. If only one side trusted us, then the other would target us. We could risk a blindside for 23 Librae if we were cut off forcefully, and further tensions might ensue if we were explicitly destroyed by any party involved in the ongoing war.

So, we were regulated to a peaceful existence away from our families and any form of civilization. We had to make due with whoever was assigned to the current cycle, regardless of political opinion. Luckily, to prevent as much infighting as possible, most people who made the final cut were those with neutral - or at least less radical - stances. We didn't have problems of secretly planted spies simply because no one was stupid. It'd be stupid to risk discovery and retaliation, and it'd be stupid to voluntarily take the most isolating job in the system.

Much of the current crew was made up of crew members from previous cycles as these assignments just took a toll on you. There would be some complications with transitioning from an artificial environment back to a natural one. You'd come back home only to struggle with readjustment. Your connections would be strained as the people you came back to weren't always the same as you left them. And they would find that you yourself had undergone changes as well. You'd eventually find that _Tipping the Scales_ was...really the only place you could turn to, then. With people who shared the same hardships, and an atmosphere that was the only familiar thing anymore.

That might have been the subtextual reason why we had put on _E.T. 2521_ that movie night. Like our plight, it was something that was once familiar that now was completely alien to us. A childhood memory that took on new meaning.

But my interpersonal issues aren't the purpose of this. Sorry, I...I guess I just wanted to ramble, now that the ever-growing possibility that I'll never get to send a message out again is dawning on me. I hope that once the story breaks to the masses - _if_ you'd allow it to, that is - maybe the report/memoir in its entirely will reach them. That people will know the context of our lives before this happened. That they'd be able to be...sympathetic. I know that we didn't know any names from Harvest, so we...just didn't fully think on how there had to have been families, completely nuanced lives that had...stopped responding to us.

Our last contact with Harvest was in January. Of course we didn't realize it at first. You never realize that last text message or phone call with someone is the last until too much time passes, or news reaches you first. It took us two months to start considering the fact that something was wrong; which was stupid of us, really. We knew some troops had been deployed by the UNSC to quell Insurrection forces over there. Maybe it was our policy of neutrality that didn't make us think that either side had overturned the other and decided to not broadcast to us any updates. Hell, the only reason we knew in the first place about the troops is that their ship had to pass by us first to get there, and they had to explain themselves to avoid upsetting Madrigal. I have a feeling some Insurrection supporters in the government wanted to tell us to regularly check in with Harvest about the issue and maybe even to send a warning about the troops. But not only would that be breaching the neutrality, it really wasn't our job to look after Harvest. If this grew to become an issue to 23 Librae, it would take some time to advance to that and there should've been enough red flags for us to catch in time. Just as long as we played nice to the UNSC, we could delay retaliation to our own Insurrectionist cells just a little longer.

It was on a whim we decided to just send a message out, though. It wasn't anything too controversial. A simple routine message we sometimes send infrequently, and of which had in the past allowed us to catch things even before we could see them.

_"Have you noticed anything to be of concern to 23 Librae and Madrigal since our last communications?"_

We gave them a week to respond. Nothing. We reported it back to Madrigal - not labeled as something of concern, just something to take note. They said they would debate forwarding it to other colonies, though. But since the last substantial news about the colony involved Insurrectionist-UNSC fighting, I guess a decision to do nothing was decided. After all, if it turned out to be related to the war, that would involve the government to finally pick a side to stay on.

Fast forward a little, and Harvest's sudden lost contact was finally noticed by the Colonial Military Administration. The _CMA Argo_ passed by us, informing us of its mission to check up on Harvest. That was in April. It was now May and the only transmission we got from that area was confirmation the _Argo_ had arrived. On Monday we made the decision to send a report back to Madrigal based on our concern that something was going on near Harvest and further investigation would be needed. We got a response the following day that the government had been seized by the Insurrection, and we would now be taking orders from them. They would only be forwarding the information to allied Insurrectionist cells as a concern of an UNSC takeover. We argued the _Argo_ was owned by the Colonial Military Administration - it was essentially UNSC. They replied that we had to check where our loyalties lied and stop further contact to _any_ outsiders - barring security checks to approaching vessels.

On Friday, everyone in the crew had come to a fateful decision. We decided to send a general transmission that would be received by anyone listening in Epsilon Indi. We knew if whatever it was that made Harvest and the _Argo_ go quiet made its way to Madrigal, the civil war and political bias might hinder response to it. Madrigal was in no shape to just isolate itself during a crisis.

_"Epsilon Indi system - what is the situation there? Please make contact with us. Does 23 Librae need to be worried?"_

We had just been waking up, memories of the movie night before, when we were finally alerted to a new transmission. After a week, we finally got something from Epsilon Indi. It came from an unknown source, but it was in the system, so...

_"We will honor your final request."_

It confused the hell out of us. And after everything we dealt with so far...it nearly scared us. We reported a vague retelling of the incident back to the Innie-controlled government. All we said was that a transmission from Epsilon Indi from an unknown source was received. When they wanted more, we decided to say it was a response to our last message - without revealing what and when the last message as, of course. Couldn't let them think we were against them...even though we basically were leaning to it. Our neutrality was what completed the job in the end - furthering an agenda without explicit fact that it'd keep the system safe threatened doing that job effectively.

They decided to let us pursue contact with the source, just to receive more intel. We personally wanted answers, anyway.

_"What do you mean? Why have we lost contact with Harvest and_ CMA Argo _?"_

The next response only took a few hours.

_"We will show you in due time."_

We sent transcripts of the conversation back to Madrigal. _Now_ they were concerned. We were informed the planet would be going into lockdown mode and evacuations on standby. All we had to do was to keep up communications and our guard.

_"Is 23 Librae in danger?"_

You made us endure several weeks of anxiety before you responded. Until you were right at Madrigal's doorstep. Until you had slipped ships past _Tipping the Scales_ radar with cloaking humans were never prepared to detect. Until we received frantic messages from the Innies that we were traitors and murderers. Until we attempted to start up engines for an emergency repositioning and found you had jammed them remotely. Until all your ships revealed themselves all over the system, with one right next to us and preparing to board us.

_"The system will no longer need to worry about desecration from vermin."_

We had to watch Madrigal burn. We had to listen to you rummaging outside the bridge. We had to make an important decision.

We realized after a few hours of your invasion of the ship that you wanted us alive. It wasn't hard to figure out why. You needed us to locate more planet. To find the rest of humanity. You must've realized the value of prisoners after "cleansing" Harvest and destroying the _Argo_. Had we not be stupid enough to keep up communicating, you'd never have found Madrigal. Even if _we_ refused to fork over information, our transmission logs would reveal coordinates to anyone else we've contacted. That's the only reason you've been so patient.

So we cleared all of the logs. We destroyed as much of the information we had on us. We prayed there wasn't enough left for you to get your hands on. Then, one by one, we helped each other...eliminate one last source of intel. Ourselves.

You were able to stop _me_ from dying, though. You took me prisoner. You've tortured me into submission. Until I finally said I'd write you what I know, if you'd only give me enough time to remember all to write down and candy you took from me. But I never clarified what this last report would be, now did I?

You must be so upset to have read all that. All that stalling and rambling. Stalling while the "candy" I ate worked its way through my system. A little fun fact about humanity - _nothing_ about pills is sweet to us. And it seems I've run out of time. Just one more line before I'm overtaken and pass out for good. So, about the "tip" you wanted me to reveal?

_Learn to stop being such dumbasses._

* * *

The shipmaster of _Reverberating Conviction_ thought back to that memoir found on the body of the last human captive he had ever taken. In contrast to the rage it had put him in the first time he read it, he could only smile now. That human died so pleased...the idea of messing with the shipmaster one last time must've overpowered the one flaw in that little plan of trying to eliminate all means to locate the other worlds the vermin had nested on. It really made the final line ironic.

All the other systems were always desperate to know why contact was lost.

The Covenant was happy to respond to all the transmissions. After they were close enough, of course. Close enough that no pleas for help would have time to be sent.

And it was true. Nearly all prisoners never gave into demands. The shipmaster never took on another captive because of that, although any others had tried. He could count with one hand how many were successful in that.

_Reverberating Conviction_ was among the three fleets that entered a particularly noisy system - one where they just would not stop demanding "Epsilon Eridani II" and "Reach" and any ships they sent that way to make contact. The transmissions came from dozens of sources across a particularly wide range. A message from one of the ships further out sent word back to what the main offenders were. It seemed this was the most populated system of the humans yet. So many colonies, including a planet of blue and green. All just openly broadcasting their locations, unaware of the placements of cloaked cruisers in preparation of the next invasion. Perhaps they'd finally hit the home system. Perhaps this was the last system they'd need to target.

As the idea of finally getting to end this crusade after so many years, the final words of that nameless human captive ghosted on the mouth of the shipmaster.

_Learn to stop being such_ _dumbasses._

**Author's Note:**

> So I made that first note before I even started writing. And you can tell because I described this as "simple and quick". I have definitely written more than what I originally planned and went in a completely different direction, too.
> 
> I originally intended the story to be about the last contact of Harvest to this made-up scout ship, in an alternative timeline where humanity doesn't learn about the Covenant until it's far too late. The last report was originally going to be sent back to a human government - either Madrigal or the UNSC. But then as I kept going, I realized that wasn't going to work with how I'd set it up. And plus the intro was a little off for that...unless it was context being issued to an alien. And that's when the last paragraphs of the report itself came to mind. And then I added the bit with the Covenant at the end just because I felt it was hard to figure out that this was an alternative timeline where the Covenant was silently picking off ships and colonies one by one undetected by the rest of humanity.


End file.
